Publications

October 2015
Case

BandPage (A)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Colin Maclay and Greta Friar

BandPage CEO James "J" Sider is about to receive results from BandPage's targeted advertising campaign on music streaming service Rhapsody and learn whether BandPage's strategy to improve ad click through rates and generate revenue has succeeded. BandPage, which began... View Details

Keywords: Digital Innovation; Digital Music; Digital Marketing; Mobile Marketing; Technological Innovation; Marketing Communications; Music Entertainment; Mobile Technology; Music Industry

October 2008 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

Examines how successful companies can “jump to the next S-curve” through an analogy to the life's work of Miles Davis, especially his paradigm-shattering Kind of Blue album in 1959. Students consider how and why Davis, who had already proven he was tops in his field,... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Creativity; Music Entertainment; Music Industry

August 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Sony PlayStation2 (A)

By: Rohit Deshpande and Seth Schulman

In early 1999, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., had to determine the appropriate U.S. launch strategy for the next-generation video game player, Sony PlayStation2. Despite the success of the original PlayStation1, new competitors and an uncertain... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Globalization; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Risk and Uncertainty; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology; Computer Industry; Computer Industry; United States

February 1999
Case

Tele-Communications, Inc. (A): Cascading Miracles

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

John Malone, CEO of Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI), the largest U.S. cable television company, is in the midst of a strategic and operational turnaround. TCI has been losing market share to direct-to-home satellite broadcasters, and Malone is considering a bold new... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Operations; Television Entertainment; Business Strategy; Volatility; Telecommunications Industry; United States

June 1989 (Revised July 1994)
Case

Babbage's: America's Software Headquarters

By: Walter J. Salmon

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Video Game Industry; United States

July 2004 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Sony EyeToy

By: Anita Elberse and Youngme E. Moon

In early 2004, less than a year after its launch, Sony's EyeToy, a unique video gaming concept, had become a tremendous success across Europe. Developed for use with Sony's PlayStation 2 console, the revolutionary technology allowed users standing in front of a small... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Software; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Europe

June 1988
Case

American Repertory Theatre--1988

American Repertory Theatre (ART) is one of the premier resident theatres in the United States. ART has been successful in following its vision, which is to advance the art of theatre by creating an ideal working environment for artists and promoting very high quality... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Success; Theater Entertainment; Fine Arts Industry; United States

01 Mar 2014
News

Insight: Yenball

by Dan Morrell Perhaps the biggest free agent target in major league baseball this off-season was 25-year-old Masahiro Tanaka, a pitcher in the Japanese professional league with a devastating split-finger fastball who made international headlines by winning a record 30... View Details

Keywords: Morrell, Daniel; Masahiro Tanaka; Hideki Matsui; Isao Okada; business of sports; Arts, Entertainment

August 2000 (Revised August 2005)
Case

STAR TV in 1993

Describes STAR TV, a pan-Asian satellite network that has standardized its strategy across its target markets. STAR's acquisition by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation provides an opportune point to analyze whether the viability of this strategy is likely to increase or... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Adaptation; Globalization; Television Entertainment; Telecommunications Industry

01 Dec 1999
News

The Message and the Media: Advertising's Brave New World

are on the increase. These substitutes compete directly with traditional media for advertisers' marketing dollars. Similarly, mergers between media providers and content suppliers (such as news and entertainment programming) also... View Details

Keywords: Peter K. Jacobs

18 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 18, 2018

the industry and in China. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/909403 Harvard Business School Case 216-052 Bankruptcy at Caesars Entertainment Caesars View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 1983
Case

Cablevision of Boston

By: Howard H. Stevenson

Keywords: Television Entertainment; Business and Government Relations; Media and Broadcasting Industry

April 2008
Background Note

Broadband and Video Games: Playing and Winning Together

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

This note examines the relationship between video gaming devices (console, handhelds, mobile and PC) and gaming software development. The impact of broadband, wireless technologies and other innovations are also presented. View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Innovation and Invention; Relationships; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

01 Sep 2013
News

The New Rules of E-Commerce

thing. Shoppers want value but also a stimulating experience, or "discovery shopping." Rakuten helps its vendors, many of them small-shop owners, use social media to offer unique content, such as the fashion shop that chronicles its buyers' global adventures, or the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne; e-commerce; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

01 Dec 2011
News

Inside MTV’s Global Fame

Related Links Watch Bill Roedy describe his approach to taking MTV global In 1989, Bill Roedy (MBA ’79) was told to transform the American success story MTV into a global presence. Twenty years later, Roedy had built the largest View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries

01 Sep 2013
News

Faculty Books

policymakers and the public on how capture can be mitigated and the public interest protected. Blockbusters: Hit-Making, Risk-Taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment by Anita Elberse (Henry Holt) What's behind the success of View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet)

25 Aug 2022
News

Turning Point: Dream Weaver

little over six years later, I was hired as founding head of CAA’s corporate practice and had the opportunity to work with Robert Redford, Robert De Niro, Danny DeVito, Kevin Costner, and director Michael Mann—all true storytellers and translators of the human... View Details

Keywords: career; life experience; Hollywood; movies; film

July 2019 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Backstage at Boston Ballet

By: David G. Fubini, Ryan Raffaelli, Begum Agca Okutgen and Julia Kelley

This case asks students to consider how to prioritize goals when placed in a new leadership role. In August 2014, Meredith “Max” Hodges became the youngest Executive Director (ED) in the Boston Ballet’s 51-year history. In her first year, she was able to claim several... View Details